Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to the charging of battery powered devices. More particularly, embodiments relate to the use of focused ultrasonic beams to charge battery powered devices.
Discussion
As battery powered devices such as notebook computers, tablet computers and smart phones may increase in popularity, challenges may in turn be encountered with regard to the charging of those devices. In particular, traditional contact-based chargers may differ from device to device, which may lead to end users carrying multiple different chargers and potentially struggling to identify the correct charger for a particular device. While contactless chargers such as capacitive or inductive chargers may be suitable in certain circumstances, there remains considerable room for improvement. For example, capacitive chargers may have poor efficiency and require special materials such as a metal chassis, whereas inductive chargers may cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) to surrounding devices. Moreover, recent developments in ultrasonic charging may have had limited commercial viability due to safety concerns.